The room grew colder as Hermione stood under Voldemort's calculating stare.
She refused to speak first, refused to let him hear the slight tremor of fear in her voice. One wrong word, or thought she realized, could result in the Cruciatus Curse. A shiver seized her spine.
Voldemort appeared patient to wait for her to speak first, to give herself away. She had watched enough wizard chess to know that moving first did not always give the advantage, it could put you on the defensive, and one wrong move could leave you crushed. She wondered if she was a pawn.